The present invention relates to engines of all sorts. More particularly, the present invention relates to an engine having a rotating cylinder bank.
Internal combustion engines have been around for a long time and include, primarily, the Otto-type and Wankel engines. The Otto-type engine is a four-cycle engine in which a piston linearly reciprocates within a cylinder combustion chamber. The cylinders are typically arranged in one of three ways: a single row (in line) with the centerlines of the cylinders vertically oriented; a double row with the centerlines of opposite cylinders converging in a V (V-engine); or two horizontal, opposed rows (opposed or pancake engine). Beginning in the early part of the twentieth century, the conventional Otto-type reciprocating engine began to assume dominance as the most practical approach, even though it was recognized that a large portion of the energy developed through combustion of fuel was wasted in decelerating and accelerating the pistons on their reciprocating strokes. The Wankel engine, which is also known as a rotary engine, is denoted as such because it utilizes a triangular rotating disc which forms combustion chambers as it rotates within a fixed cylinder. The Wankel engine is also a four-cycle engine, and while it has several advantages over the Otto-type engine, it lacks torque at low speeds which leads to greater fuel consumption.
It is desirable that a practical internal combustion engine have one or more, and preferably all, of the following advantageous features not heretofore provided: (1) a smooth, relatively vibration-free engine; (2) no energy lost in accelerating and decelerating reciprocatingly moving pistons; (3) multiple power take-off points; (4) a plurality of ignition systems optional; (5) an option of employing conventional supercharger and fuel injector-spark plug ignition or compression ignition of air and fuel injection analogous to a diesel engine; (6) improved central fuel/air injection in which the fuel/air is moved outwardly through the engine by centrifugal force to afford a more nearly uniform combustion mixture and complete exhaust through a peripherally disposed discharge port; (7) an unusual high-power-to-weight ratio; (8) a mechanical efficiency curve that becomes more advantageous to doing meaningful work earlier in the power stroke, than in the conventional Otto-type engine, in order to take advantage of the higher cylinder pressures at that time which results in increased torque and more power; (9) an ability to change the cubic displacement and therefore the torque potential of the engine while it is running thereby giving it the ability to respond to varying power needs; (10) an ability to take advantage of a four-cycle progression which includes intake, compression, ignition-power, and exhaust, in a rotary configuration; and (11) the option of altering the mechanical efficiency curve to virtually any configuration.
In the early 1970's a two-cycle rotary vee engine was invented as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,830,208; 3,902,468; and 3,905,338. In essence, the rotary vee included six cylinders in each end of a housing, the middle of which was bent at a vee angle of 110°. The pistons in each cylinder at one end of the housing were fixedly attached to the respective piston in the opposite end of the housing, and the entire cylinder-piston arrangement revolved. The advantages of the rotating cylinder banks of the vee engine were in the substantial increased power and efficiency when compared to a linearly reciprocating Otto-type engine or Wankel engine. However, the design structure of the vee engine failed because the torque developed by the second cylinder bank was transmitted through the first via a violent twisting motion which scored the pistons and cylinder walls whenever a large load was applied. The other problem with the vee engine was that it was a two-cycle oil-in-fuel mixture design which is less reliable and less clean burning than a four-cycle configuration.
It is therefore desirable to provide a new rotary engine with a rotating cylinder bank like the vee engine, but with improved fuel efficiency, lower emissions, smaller size, and/or greater power and which has the advantageous features mentioned above.